Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-03-15
A HUNDRED KILLED AND INJURED
Pitiful Details Of the Latest Great Rail.
road Horror.

road Horror
THIRTY-NrNE NAMES OF THE DEAD ALRE ADV GIVEN
STORIES OF AN EYEWITNESS AND OF SURVIVORS
THE BRIDGE CONSIDERED UNSAFE FOR SOME TINE
ENGINEER WHITES THoUGHTFU1NEss.
The first accounts OF the accident at the Bussey
woods bridge, on the Boston and Providence rail-
road yesterday, understated rather than over
stated the extent and horrors OF the disaster.
The latest LIST OF the dead made up at midnight
gives the names OF thirty-nine persons, while the
number OF wounded runs up as high as 20. The
only thing wanting to duplicate all the appalling
features OF the White River junction disaster was
the fact that the fire which broke out In the wreck
was extinguished before it had made any head
way. ThlS was due to the presence of mind OF En-
g1neer White, OF the wrecked train. The minute
the cars went down he cut loose from the train
and fully realizing the imminent danger from fire
he ran his engine at full speed, with the whistle
Shrlek1ng wildly, to give the alarm to the Forest
Hllls station Reaching there he jumped from his
engine and dashed TO the nearest fire alarm box,
where ne rang In an alarm before explaining 10
anyone what had happened. His prompt action
quickly brought the fremen to the wreck One OF
f fe cars S nad already begun to burn but stream
before they had time to spread and saved the pin
Toned victims from dreadful death. Engineer
saved two score or more OF lives. His action also
brought aid quickly to the scene and hastened the
rescue OF the wounded, thereby lesSening the still
greater length Of the death-rOu
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS THAT MADE MEN SICK.
The sight of the wrecked train was sickening.
The shouts and screams OF the imprisoned passen-
gers were heartrending; wounded, dead and dying
men and women were crushed hOpeleSSly together
IN the awful wreck of wood and iron and every
Wnere were 10 be seen passengers struggling deS-
perately to free themselves from the weight that
pinned them down. Although the victims OF the
burning, however, their sufTerngs were none the
less learful. Many were killed outright by the
terrible fall and of these nearly all We're horribly
crushed and mangled. or the Others, hardly any,
one In the five wrecked cars escaped injury.
Broken Spines and crushed limbs and bodies made
the victims helpless and their shriekS and groans
or agony wet with involuntary tears the cheeks OF
the reScuers. Few of those taken out were found
to be uninjured and several OF them were so badly
hurt that they died before the work OF rescue
could be completed. The scenes as the bodies OF
the dead were laid, one by one, side by side, along
the snowy embankment that soon became trOdden
and soaked with blood, was one that once wit
neSS0d could never be forgotten.
He SAW THE TRAIN GO DOWN.
The only person known to have been an eve wit
ness OF the disaster who Was not on the train was
j. II. Lennon, fish-dealer, whose stable was on
the hill just above the bridge Lennon was har-
Messing his team when the train came along, and
turned to see Ii pass. He was hOrrOr-Struck when
he saw the train take its fatal plunge. For a mo
ment, Lennon says, there was perfect quiet, and
then the cries OF the injured were heard issuing
from the debris. Selling axe from the barn,
Lennon started for the wreck which he reached in
moment. He climbed into the window OF one OF
the coaches that had landed against the stone
WALL and set to work 10 release those persons who
had been pinned down by the broken timbers.
Lennon with his axe released four men who were
badly hurt and handed them out Of the window to
other men who had come to the rescue. He also
handed out the bodies OF two dead women, one OF
whom was nearly decapitated and had both arms
severed from her body.
The train which met disaster was heavily laden
with business men, clerks and shop girls going to
their work in the city. The first five cars passed
safely over the bridge. Then the passengers felt
irfir af tnn fAllar
mediately by sidewise, downward movement,
and with a terrible crash the five rear cars were
hurled together into the. the street below The rear
| its top. 1t was filed with passengers and very
few escaped. The second car was tipped partly
over and made complete breach. The third car
fell On its bottom with the roof and floor well
crushed together, like a closed ACCORDION. The
fourth car was stretched at right angles across
the street, with its top torn completely OF. The
fifth was the worst wrecked OF The whole train
being crushed into shapeless heap OF broken and
| car hardly any one remained alive. It fell from
the track close to the side OF the street and par
allel with 1t, and its roof and sides were literally
broken into k1ndling wood The sixth car crossed
the bridge, but was thrown from the track close
to the embankment. One of its sides was COM
pletely torn away, and Ats roof was crushed in
The seventh car was also dera1led and wrecked.
STORIES OF SURVIVORS.
John Murphy, who was badly injured, relates
his experience as follows: 81 was talking to Mr.
Edward Morse when felt the bridge sinking under
me. We grabbed hold OF the seats, and in an in
slant all the people and the seats OF the car came
tumbling down on US. had one leg pinned down
under me, and the other was thrown over Mr..
Morse, and that also was pinned down. Ny body
was under pile OF seats, and directly In front OF
me was young man who appeared to be dead
At first none OF us could move, but In minute
tel! Mr.: Morse moving; l asked him If he was
some, but thought he would be all right If he could
only get out It seemed long time before could
move my arms. Then began to clear away the
pieces OF the wreck that held me down. got
everything away except my left foot. That panied
me terribly. At last succeeded in prying up the
seats, and nearly pulled my foot on In freeing 1t
from the wreck, but managed to get out in some
way: Icrawled over the dead body. and at last
george Sanford of Roslindale, was in the sec
ond car OF the wrecked train. He told thrilling
| story of his experience. He said: 81 took the
sitting in the middle OF the secondcar. There was
absolutely nothing to give a premOnition OF the
disaster. All at once there was crash a deafen-
Ing noise moment or two OF tue grinding of tim
bers. and then for moment all was still. 1t had
come with such awful suddenness that everybody
| seemed to be paralyZed.- Then arose q confusion
| OF sounds from the wrecked cars below. Voices
| were calling out for help, women were screaming
from those who were badly hurt or dying. The
floor OF one seemed to be forced up TO the roof
the entire coach having collapsed, appar-
banged against the roof, while the seats were
streWn about everywhere. Many people were un-
| them. Directly in front OF us sat a man named
Ryan, one OF my neighbOrs in Roslindale. We
were cOnverS1ng with him at the moment OF the
crash. Ryan was half turning in his seat as he
talked, and the moment after he was actually run
through and through by Splinters from the bottom
Of the car. My mother and were fastened in be-
tween our seat and RyanS, but managed to
break on Ryan's seat and release ourselves. MY
mother had tainted, and at first thought she was
dead. pulled her out through window, and
| she soon revived in the open air."
THE BRIDGE WAS KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE.
Among those who visited the wreck yesterday
afternoon were several mechanical engineers, one
being professor at the Boston Institute of Tech
nOlOgy, and the railroad commissioner. They
found what is supposed to have been the cause OF
the accident. The lower end OF the hangers which
supported the bridge was a caSt-tron box enclOS-
ing clutch which reSembled two fingers Of hand
drawn up to q half circle These clutches were
| about two and 0ne-half inches wide and one and
one-hal inches thick Over these iron fingers was
| q round steel pini0n about eighteen inches long
and three inches In diameter. One OF these fingers
was completely rotted away by rust, and the other
rusted about half through. Thus the whole strain
and it was but q natural consequence when the
engine passed that this finger should break, and,
| one OF its supports being gone, the whole bridge
had to fall This support was on the east side and
nearest to the Boston end OF the bridge.
For considerable time, and especially since the
Vermont catastrophe, many OF the residents OF
| West Roxbury. and Dedham had felt alarmed
about the condition OF the Bussey bridge and
within month there has been talk OF Circulating
petition asking for an Investigation OF the mat
ter; but what is everybOdy's work is n0b0dy's and